So my computer is finally about dead (6 years old) and I desperately need a new one. Due to an absurd amount of home/appliance repairs/replacements in the last 4 months money is way tight. Quick breakdown so you can send sympathies...

July 1st all 3 major kitchen appliance went tits up within one week of each otherOven : last one would not fire upDishwasher : deadFridge : had leak inside and freezer was on fritz; this one was probably worth fixing but Wife wanted stainless steel on the other two so might as well replace it.

total tally : $2,200

July 14th : main sewer line to street had to be replaced, backed up downstairs bathroom and flooded it before I was able to knock off top of blowout valve outside and create a 15 foot shit geyser...showered outside.Total tally : $3,000...except they hit main gas line during install and I made them discount to $2,500...yay me?

July 30th : Pine tree removal (roots got in main line) : $1,200

September 20th : thought we were In the clear Gutters got cleaned, my guy says I need a new roof...I don't disagree.

Did I mention we want to get out of this house and buy a bigger one and almost did 6 months ago.

Anyhow on to something at least fun to buy...new pc!

Ok Microcenter up the street has their in house brand of Pc's...Powerspec. They have an open box/returned one that seems like a steal as it's been sitting around since July.1 year 48 hour repair warranty

IT has an AsRock MB which I'm not familiar with and an undetermined PS. Anyone familiar with ASRock? PS I could swap out if need be for cheap. I think it is a sweat deal but have not been paying attention to hardware in last couple years. I am sure some of it off brand but they sell these new for 900ish. Coming from an ancient core 2 duo I think considering the above circumstance I will not do better in my $600-$700 price range. Any thoughts would be appreciated I have it on hold for next 48 hours.

That's a good price for it and it will run just about any game well. My system is comparably spec'd (i5 2500k, ssd, 8gb ram, 660ti) and it runs great.

Edit: The cpu in the one your looking at ends with a K which means its multiplier is unlocked and with a good HSF you should be able to overclock it pretty easily if the ASRock mobo has decent overclocking controls in the BIOS. I have my 2500K running at 4.2ghz.

Hell....if it has been sitting around that long, talk them down. Or tell them that they hit your gas line.

Microcenter is famous for putting stuff buried on shelves and/or in the wrong section and continuously discounting them until somebody stumbles upon them and gets them at a steal. I got an unopened $200 noise reduction headphones for $35 6 months ago They were actually marked at $60 but rang up at $35. It would appear they could not even find them to mark them down the last time. I found them in the keyboard isle.

About the gas line...

It was the main feed for my side of the street...the whole street....and the street behind my house. Gas Co said it knocked around 350 customers out of service. There was no shut off valve. It sounded like a jet engine and was waving tree branches 60' in the air above it. I would have laughed except a fireman in a full suit with mask banged on my door handed me a mask and said "put this on and follow me quickly" They had to evacuate 20 houses. Of course a torrential downpour started 15 mins after I was evacced. I called my dad to come get me and we went to a bar for the 5 hours it took them to get it back on.... he felt sorry for me and paid the bill They had to fix it 'hot' as they say which involved 2 guys in a fire suit and 2 fir trucks with 4 hoses deployed and ready. I though I let the plumbers off easy! I'm pretty sure the Gas company did not. Bonus : I got a new lawn and some evil holly bushes removed for free!

fwiw, I ate a $200 (!) stocking fee on a fancy Powerspec back in 2004 because the noise made by its cooling fan and power supply was unbelievable and unbearable. it was like a vacuum cleaner. I think I exchanged it once, hoping it was just defective, but the 2nd was just as bad.

And Micro center charged 10% restocking fees (this was a $1,999 computer at the time), which was outrageous but I wasn't going to get stuck with that monstrosity.

So I would ask them if an already opened PC from Micro Center has any return policy at all. You don't want to get stuck with a lemon nor a computer so loud you can't hear yourself think when it's running.

I have owned a couple older PowerSpecs and they were OK but I and most folks would say you can do better either building your own (probably someone here would build it for you if you buy the parts) or ordering a modest system online from various places.

It comes with a full 1 year 48 hour repair warranty. I also have 15 days to take it back for 100% refund. They are only about 15 mins from my house. I priced the parts out and I could not build one comparable at that price. Plus I'm retired from building rigs. I also looked at Cyberpower, which my last two pc's were. It was closer to $900 plus shipping for a comparable one.

Got it late last night and only fiddled around. Quiet as a mouse and super duper fast; booted in less than 5 seconds. I will add an extra case fan this weekend and swap the junky PS out sometime soon when I find a great deal.

Well we had an issue with this one . It was crashing during gaming so I took it back up there to get looked at. Turns out the Video card was failing so they replaced the cheap Zoltac one with a much higher quality PNI one. They also agreed with me that while the power supply was ok/borderline with the bad video card it would not be up to snuff with the new one. I talked them into putting in a Corsair 600 watt one that was on sale in lieu of another higher watt cheapo brand (Allied) one. So my two biggest concerns with the PC were exchanged for free. They should have known better with the original power supply but I have to say I was extremely pleased with the outcome and quickness. Had it back on Saturday after I took it in late Thursday night. This was last week and it has been rock solid since then with zero issues. Just need to add an extra case fan or two if I plan on OC'ing anything.